The UK company behind the McVitie's, Jaffa Cakes and
Penguin brands has been bought by Turkish food group Yildiz Holdings for a
reported £2bn.
United Biscuits (UB) was put up for sale by its
private equity owners Blackstone and PAI Partners.
UB employs employs about 7,100 people, with 4,600 in
the UK at sites including London, Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow, Halifax and
Liverpool.
Yildiz owns Belgium's Godiva Chocolate and America's
De Met's Candy Company.
The company has no operations in the UK, but has a
presence in the US, Middle East, North Africa, China, and Japan.
America's Kellogg's is thought to have been among
several firms interested in buying UB, whose other products include Twiglets
and Mini Cheddars.
Yildiz said it would look to drive UB's growth using
its own global distribution network.
Chairman Murat Ulker said: "We want to grow
United Biscuits to be a global player as part of Yildiz.
"This will include enhancing its position in
the UK, where Yildiz currently has minimal presence, so we will continue to
invest in the UK and Europe," he said.
Although no sale price was disclosed in
United Biscuits' statement,several reports said the figure was
around £2bn.
Lionel Assant, European head of private equity at
Blackstone, said: "United Biscuits is a great business and has been an
excellent investment for us. Yildiz is the best home for the company and will
allow UB to fulfil its international growth ambitions."
No comments:
Post a Comment